Cross Street in the suburb of Phillipstown, Christchurch

Cross St – Work painting a cottage in “Cross Street, off Duncan’s Road” is advertised in the Star in 1888. First appears in street directories in 1890.A small amount of information from the library website. The Duncan’s Road mentioned is now Nursery Rd. I couldn’t find out the reason for the name Cross. Searched Papers Past and ancestry website. Couldn’t find anyone with the surname Cross that was a likely candidate for the name. My best guess based on other streets with a similar name is that it was a street that crossed a certain section of land possibly land belonging to Andrew Duncan. Became common usage and then formally became Cross Street. Note this is pure guesswork on my behalf.In April 1888 there was a lamp erected on the corner of Matheson Rd and Cross Street but not many entries in Papers Past until 1917 to 1920 when there was discussion about purchasing land for a kindergarten. In 1920 the Education Dept made a grant for the purchasing of land on the corner of Cross St and Nursery Rd for an infant school in connection with Phillipstown school. Other articles call it Phillipstown Kindergarten. There is no kindergarten here any longer and it was possibly on the section that is now Cross Reserve as this is opposite the now closed Phillipstown school.There are 41 properties here and there are two big blocks of flats. The art deco looking flats were built in 1990 and the other block of flats are from 2015. Several houses from 1970s and one modern place from 2020. The house from 1910 has lovely white painted ironwork above the veranda. I was disappointed in the house from 1890 as it is a boring white square blob of a house. A few house from 1920s and 1915 and I suspect that they are the rundown looking ones with high wire fences surrounding them. I first thought that they were blocked off as they were being repaired but there are other reasons for high locked fences. Some nice houses along here but not sure that I would like living here.